Was walking home from the bike share in Ledriot Park around 10 or 11pm. I was in the street because I feel like that’s a safer place to walk in that neighborhood instead of the dark sidewalks. A guy drove by and stopped and said said something about how sexy I was and I told him to get the f out of my face. He yelled something back and drove off.

I was walking home from work near the shaw metro and three guys walked towards me, one of them saying “girl when you gonna stop playing and show me that pussy” I have no idea if I’ve ever seen these guys before and I didn’t get a good look to avoid them in the future, but seriously?

Hollaback! Czech celebrated Prague Pride! They represented at the inaugural party at the mayor’s house, did a week-long tabling event, were interviewed on their work, conducted an interview with Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley, the founders of the NOH8 campaign, and did a Hollaback/NOH8 photoshoot!

Hollaback! is proud to work with the New York Council to empower the public to take direct action in the face of all forms of street harassment and make their complaints count. This week we relaunched our apps in New York City, allowing users to report street harassment and bystander intervention to Hollaback!, and, if they choose, the New York City Council. In so doing, the City will be able to collect data and develop strategies to combat street harassment. That makes New York City the only large city in the world to proactively and systematically address street harassment.

We’ve received some questions about the app, and we wanted to take a minute to answer them here:

Question: What exactly is street harassment?

Answer: Street harassment is a form of sexual harassment that takes place in public spaces. At its core is a power dynamic that constantly reminds historically subordinated groups (women and LGBTQ folks, for example) of their vulnerability to assault in public spaces. Furthermore, it reinforces the ubiquitous sexual objectification of these groups in everyday life. At Hollaback!, we believe that what specifically counts as street harassment is determined by those who experience it. While there is always the classic, “Hey baby, nice tits!”, there are many other forms that go unnoticed. If you feel like you have been harassed, Hollaback!

Question: How did this revised NYC app come about?

On October 28, 2010 the New York City Council held the first-ever hearing on street harassment. Advocates in the room consistently requested a citywide study on the impact of street harassment, and the Council agreed. Hollaback! approached the Council with a proposal for a baseline study of harassment, a content analysis of stories already told in New York City, and an app where individuals could directly report their harassment and receive resources, including referrals to local community based organizations. Only the apps were ultimately funded by the city, at the urging of the Council’s Women’s Caucus.

1. To develop a platform where victims report street harassment in real-time to their local government so that there is system-wide level of accountability. The app will also educate people about their rights and community based resources.

2. To train and encourage everyday citizens to safely intervene when they see harassment happening. The free apps will provide resources on how to intervene safely and a platform from which bystanders can share their stories.

3. To analyze the robust data set collected through this project to inform our collective understanding of how street harassment operates and develop long-term policy and community-based solutions to end or at least significantly reduce street harassment.

Question: How does the app work?

When you open the app, you’ll be asked to select a language, your location, and for your email address. Here’s what the page looks like:

Set Language. The app is available in 9 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Turkish, Czech, Dutch, and Polish. If you are interested in volunteering to help us translate the app into additional language, please reach out!

Your local Hollaback. We operate in over 60 cities in over 20 countries, and growing. If there is no Hollaback in your city, select “No Hollaback in my city” and consider starting one! You will only be able to access the NYC-specific changes to the app by selecting “USA – New York City.”

Email. Your email address will not be shared with anyone, ever.

Next, select “done” to move to the menu. If you want to change any of this information at a later date, you can change it by selecting the “Settings” button on the menu.

Once you’re on the menu, you’ll see seven buttons: Share your Story, Map, Donate, About, Settings, Resources, and Know Your Rights. To share your story, click on the “share your story” button. The first section of questions are the same questions Hollaback! asks no matter what city you’re in. All of this information is optional, so share only the parts you feel comfortable sharing:

I experienced this/I saw this (select one).

Type. This questions is about the type of harassment you experienced, and you can choose multiple. Options include verbal, stalking, homophobic, transphobic, assault, groping, racist, public masturbation, and other.

Name. You can also submit under a chosen name, handle, or pseudonym. If you submit your full name we will not publish your last name on nyc.ihollaback.org to protect your identity.

Your Story. You’re invited to include a narrative with as much or as little information as you want. Please keep in mind our anti-discrimination policy when writing, as we do not publish race or class identifiers.

Upload photo. This can be of the harasser, but oftentimes people upload a photo of the scene including a street sign, your shoes, or a passing car. We encourage you to be creative.

Location of incident. You can use GPS or manually input the address.

Next, you’ll be asked if you want to share your story with the NYC Council. If you choose “no,” none of the information you input above will be sent to them. If you choose “yes” a report will be sent to the Councilmember in the district in which you were harassed, as well as to the Council as a whole once you click “Submit.” If you choose “yes,” you’ll be prompted to answer additional, optional questions including:

Race/Ethnicity. Options include: Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Nat.Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or White.

Incident locations. This question is designed to help better figure out where these incidents are happening. Options include: Park, School, Construction, Subway, Bus, Ferry, Taxi, Street, Retail, and Other. Based on this information, if we see for example that most incidents are happening in parks, we can work with the department of parks to develop preventative measures. Here are examples of policy recommendations that we encourage: http://www.ihollaback.org/resources/policy-recommendations/

Reports made. Here we want to know if you have reported this incident through other outlets. Options include: 911, 311, Station Agent/Driver, or Other.

In addition to the option to share your story, the app includes a Map, where you see incidents of harassment mapped in pink dots, and incidents of bystander intervention mapped in green dots. You also find a resources section, where you can learn more about how to respond to harassment and be a better bystander, as well as a list of local NYC-based organizations that can help including the Ali Forney Center, the Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE), Legal Momentum, Metropolitan Hospital Victims Assistance and Counseling Program, NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Queerocracy, Right Rides, Safe Horizons, STEPS to end Family Violence, Turning Point for Women and Families, CONNECT, and New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP). If you have suggestions of other resources we can include, please contact us at [email protected]. Lastly, you’ll find a “Know Your Rights” section of the app where you can get more information on how to report your incident to the NYPD should you choose to.

Question: What happens with this information?

If you only choose to send the information to Hollaback!, it will be approved by one of our administrators and mapped and publicly available at nyc.ihollaback.org. Your contact information will not be shared.

If you also choose to send your information to the Council, your information will be sent to the Councilmember in the district in which you were harassed through a program called “Councilstat.” Councilstat is a NYC-specific government database that tracks all citizen issues are brought to the attention of the Council. It was launched to make Councilmembers move responsive to their communities.

To ensure that these stories do not get lost in a government database, Hollaback! will issue semi-annual reports that look at issues and trends across New York City. We’ll use these reports to advocate for policy recommendations related to education and prevention. These include, but are not limited to, safety audits, improved street lighting, educational workshops in middle and high schools, and public service announcements on subways and buses. For a complete list of policy recommendations that Hollaback! endorses, click here.

No. We believe that it is our role as advocates to steer policy makers away from measures that would increase criminalization, and toward measures that engage communities in prevention. As explained in Hollaback!’s article by Deputy Director, Debjani Roy, “Criminalizing verbal harassment and unwanted gestures is neither the final goal nor the ultimate solution to this problem and can, in fact, inadvertently work against the growth of an inclusive anti-harassment movement. The criminal justice system disproportionately targets and affects low-income communities and communities of color, as evidenced by policies such as New York City’s Stop and Frisk program and other degrading forms of racial profiling. Our objective is to address and shift cultural and social dialogues and attitudes of patriarchy that purport street harassment as simply the price you pay for being a woman or being LBGTQ. It is not to re-victimize men already discriminated against by the system.”

Question: What if I don’t want to report my harassment to the NYC Council?

You don’t have to! Reporting to the Council is completely up to you, the user. You are ultimately the expert of your experience and in charge of what you share. We understand that there are many personal, political, or safety related reasons why you may opt out of sharing information with the Council. In that case, you can simply post your story up on the Hollaback! site. It will be posted on the blog and mapped at nyc.ihollaback.org if you are reporting it within New York City.

Question: Does Hollaback endorse political candidates?

No. We are a non partisan non profit 501c3 organization. Our role is to educate policymakers on the best solutions to street harassment.

Question: Does my report also go to the New York City Police Department?

No. If you are interested in filing a report you must do it directly. Click on the “Know Your Rights” button on the menu for more information about how to do this. If it’s an emergency, dial 911 immediately.

Question: I heard something about your position on anti-racism. What’s that about, and what does it have to do with street harassment?

Replacing sexism with racism is not a proper hollaback. Due in part to prevalent stereotypes of men of color as sexual predators or predisposed to violence, Hollaback! asks that contributors do not discuss the race of harassers or include other racialized commentary. If you feel that race is important to your story, please make sure its relevance is explained clearly and constructively in your post. Initiatives combating various forms of sexual harassment and assault have continually struggled against the perpetuation of racist stereotypes, and in particular, the construction of men of color as sexual predators. There exist widespread fictions regarding who perpetrators are: the myth of racial minorities, particularly latino and black men, as prototypical rapists and as being more prone to violence is quite common. Because of the complexity of institutional and socially ingrained prejudices, Hollaback! prioritizes resisting both direct as well as unconscious and unintentional reinforcement of social hierarchies. Simultaneously, Hollaback! aims to highlight the interrelations between sexism, racism, and other forms of bias and violence.

Question: But isn’t street harassment a cultural thing?

Street harassers occupy the full spectrum of class, race, and nationality. Sexual harassment, and street harassment specifically, is resisted by people around the globe: Hollaback! receives e-mails of support and solidarity from around the world. To condense another’s culture into vague assumptions about who and what they are is to generalize dangerously about a wide range of experiences and perspectives that exist within any one given culture.

Question: I want to hollaback and I don’t have an iPhone or an Android.

Question: Confronting street harassers can be dangerous. What about safety issues?

While everyone is vulnerable to stranger rape and sexual assault, studies show that those who are aware of their surroundings, walk with confidence and, if harassed, respond assertively, are less vulnerable. Nevertheless, direct confrontations with street harassers may prove extremely dangerous, particularly if you are alone or in an unpopulated space. While it is each individual’s right to decide when, how, and if to hollaback, do keep issues of safety in mind. Upon deciding to photograph a harasser, you may consider doing so substantially after the initial encounter and from a distance, ensuring the harasser is unaware of your actions.

If you have additional questions, email us at [email protected]. We welcome your feedback and engagement in this conversation as we work together to make the streets safer for everyone.

As a study abroad student in Angers, France I experienced quite a bit of street harassment, however, one incident stuck with me more than the others…probably due to how much it scared me.

I was walking down the street by myself going back to my bike to head home (probably not a good call at night, but I thought since it was the street the university was off of it would be fairly safe…). I suddenly had one of the people who I did not know, and had maybe said “hello” to when my friends and I were out because he asked me my name but didn’t have much of a conversation with otherwise, run up to me from down the street trying to convince me to go with him (where exactly wasn’t stated).

When I refused and said I really needed to go he tried to convince me to just “talk” with him in the alley. That was definitely a red flag for me so I kept walking. After that, I turned back to see a huge group of about 10 guys (I came to realize they were his friends when I saw him running to meet up with them) all yelling at me to come with them. I just started walking quickly away, getting more and more nervous seeing as, despite my lack of response to all their calls, they were continuing to follow me and getting closer and closer.

I started to panic and run, and luckily ran into this bar whose owner had been one of the people I had had an extended conversation with already in the town, and came to understand that his bar was where most of the foreign exchange students would come on weekends. Being able to speak French pretty well, I explained my situation. He looked out the door and, after having seen the rowdy, intoxicated group of guys calling out at me, said in a concerned voice “stay here, my sister will come and take you home, this isn’t safe.” His sister (with a baby carriage in the back of her car, which seemed promising) then came and picked me up from the bar where I had been waiting safely. I was so happy for the kindness of a family I had just barely met, and also so grateful I had escaped this situation in which I was VASTLY outnumbered.

I came to learn that this street wasn’t known for being safe at all, despite its extremely close proximity to the school, that that’s no excuse for harassment being allowed to take place.

I said “no.” That should have been the end of that conversation. When that wasn’t respected, it was clear to me that they didn’t care about my opinion on the matter, even thought it was ME they were trying to get to come with them. Not okay.

I want to thank Councilmembers Ferreras, James, Palma, Lander, Levin, and Reyna for their support, but I especially want to thank Speaker Quinn and her team. This is truly a historic day that wouldn’t be possible without their incredible vision, and on behalf of all New Yorkers, but especially women and LGBTQ folks, I want to say thank you.

As we stand here today, I am mindful that some of you have been sexually harassed during your life. Lewd comments, gestures, threats. Public masturbation, groping.

I am mindful that some of you have been harassed this week… and I am mindful that some of you were harassed today.

And I am also mindful that some of you — especially some of you menfolk out there — have never spent two seconds thinking about street harassment, but that most of the women and LGBTQ in New York City have been thinking about it since they were young.

I wish I could tell you that your experiences in some way unique. That the harassment you faced at age 12 isn’t being faced by today’s 12 year olds. But it’s not true.

The truth is, street harassment happens to between 70-99% of women at some point during their lives. And for many — it happens much, much more often.

Harassers love people who they can wield their power over. And if you’ve been harassed throughout your life, you’ve probably come to understand:

This is what is means to be a woman and to walk down the street.

This is what it means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and to walk down the street.

This is what is means to be a person of color, and to walk down the street.

But today marks the beginning of a new understanding:

Even though we face harassment today and tomorrow. This can and will be changed.

Street harassment is such a widespread issue — and so under-researched. To target this problem, we need ways for New Yorkers to speak up and out on this issue. And we need Councilmembers that listen.

As recently as yesterday, if you wanted to report harassment in New York City, it would have taken you hours to file the complaint. With many people getting harassed as often as three or four times a day, reporting harassment could quickly turn into a full time job. It’s no surprise that so few reports came through.

Now, whether you’ve experienced harassment yourself or witnessed it and tried to help, you can make a report in under a minute. Your report will be publically available at nyc.ihollaback.org and if you choose — it will also be sent to the NYC Council and to the Councilmember in the district in which you were harassed.

With each report you make — you will make NYC a little more intolerant of the hate that underlies street harassment. And as those reports build and grow, each one strengthening the case of the last, we’ll work with the city to make sure public service announcements are in subway stations and educational workshops take place in schools.

With your support, we can make New York City a place where everyone has the right to walk safely down the street — no matter your race, gender, or expression. It starts with your story. We’re ready to listen.

App Will Provide New Yorkers the Opportunity to Immediately Report Harassment and City to Identify Possible Trouble Spots That Welcome Crime, Such as Dark Streets and Areas in Need of Repair

(August 19, 2013) – Emily May, Executive Director of Hollaback! was joined by Speaker Christine Quinn, her wife Kim Catullo, and Council Member Diana Reyna today to unveil a new, targeted system to report sexual harassment to New York City Councilmembers via iPhone and Droid app. Speaker Quinn also released a plan for assessing the safety of neighborhoods across the city, block by block, using community-led safety audits. By gathering information in a coordinated way, the city will be able to better direct resources and more effectively combat harassment.

Quinn stated, “People who violate women either by their actions or words won’t be able to hide any longer. We will know who they are, what they do, where they do it – and we will put it to an end. By coupling valuable information with targeted resources we will arm ourselves with the tools we need to put an end to street violence and harassment. Public spaces belong to all New Yorkers, and street harassment is not a price women and LGBT New Yorkers have to pay for walking around New York City’s neighborhoods.”

“This isn’t just an app, this is history. Whether you experienced harassment or you witnessed it and tried to help, your report will make New York City safer for everyone. After we pilot this here, we hope to scale it to cities globally,” said Emily May, Executive Director of Hollaback!.

The app, launched today, will enable users to report valuable information on harassment in real time. The reporting builds on an existing app run by Hollaback!, a non-profit organization that works to end street harassment. The City Council allocated $20,000 last year towards creating an expanded version of Hollaback!’s app. The current app allows users to submit reports of street harassment, assault and violence but is limited to qualitative narratives; expanding the app to include quantitative data will provide new information for evaluation and will allow the city to direct resources where they are most needed.

Information to be collected on the app will include demographics, locational information and information on the specifics of an incident or attack, as well as what, if any, formal reporting process the person went through. With this new tool, New York City will be the first city to undertake an effort to gather the data needed to understand scope of street harassment and how to reduce incidents of harassment.

Quinn also committed to conducting neighborhood audits in order to identify the safety of individual communities and where improvements are needed. The city will work with local community leaders to form teams with a variety of backgrounds and expertise to survey neighborhoods and assess factors impacting safety and the likelihood of street harassment occurring. The surveys will result in increased community engagement and recommendations for concrete improvements specific to each neighborhood’s needs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, non-contact unwanted sexual experiences including street harassment are the most prevalent form of sexual violence for both men and women. According to a joint study conducted by Hollaback! and the Worker Institute at Cornell University, 96 percent of respondents reported that they or colleague had been targeted by street harassment, with only five percent reporting the incident to security or a city authority.

Hollaback! is a non-profit organization that works to end street harassment and violence by providing training and developing innovative strategies. Since January 2011, Hollaback! has trained more than 200 young people to be leaders in their local communities in the effort to end street harassment.

To start this story off I am 19 and in college, I have had my fair share of drunk frat guys approaching me and trying to dance/dry hump me. I even had one guy at once attempt slipping something in my drink, luckily I was paying attention and ran off with friends before he turned around.

This post isn’t about those situations though, this post is the first time that I actually am having a hard time brushing off the incident like I normally do with the college boys. I was shopping with my sisters and mom and was looking at the clearance racks. All of a sudden I feel a hand grabbing my butt and when I turn around there is a really creepy older man wearing a bright neon hat he looks at me with no emotion and in a robotic tone says “Oh, Sorry” then began to shuffle the way out of the store. The reason it creeps me out the most is because it was elevated where I was standing and there was a fence like structure a foot behind me, this guy was on a ramp behind the fence structure, he deliberately put his hand through the railing and stretched to grab my but, and nobody else around me saw.

I stood there in shock at out he can just so blatantly grope me and then walk away with no sort of shame or punishment, and I kick myself today because I didn’t react differently. I was able to tell my sisters and point to him when he was almost out the door but he still left and was likely to do it to another woman if he had the chance. Now I am nervous to go out shopping or wear shorts again, and my shorts were not even that short but for some reason I still blame myself for what happened, maybe if I hadn’t been wearing shorts that day that wouldn’t have happened? I just felt gross all day yesterday because of it, I lost the ability to enjoy that shopping trip with my family because I was constantly making sure he wasn’t around and that I never had my back turned. Well I guess this is enough of my rambling, but I just really wish that guy gets caught doing what he’s doing and gets some form of punishment but I doubt that will happen.

Last year, my family and I (17 years old) went to India to visit my grandparents. We are from South India and have never gone to see the Taj Mahal (in North India). Because of this my grandparents booked us all (my mom, brother, aunt, cousin, themselves, and myself) tickets to travel to North India. Near the end of our week long stay there (which was going so well) we decided to go to a Hindu temple and pray. On the way there, we decided to hold hands with each other as it was very crowded and the area was hard to navigate. I decided to hold my aunt’s since she was standing closest to me. As we started walking, I noticed a man walking straight towards me as if he was going to run into me. Slightly unnerved by this but otherwise unsuspectingly I just made sure to move a little closer to my aunt and keep my distance from him. We continued walking, and as I passed the man, he stuck his arm out in my way and made sure to rub it against my inner thigh (I’m still not sure if he was trying to grab my crotch instead)! In that moment, I became extremely fearful of him and felt like bawling my eyes out from the humiliation. I mean, come on! He touched one of my most private areas in public, in front of my family nonetheless! I felt humiliated and dirty the rest of the trip (especially since after that we were going to temples and praying)! I was just really glad my family was there; I fear what he would have done if I was alone.